ICYMI: Xbox One X, Xbox One S All-Digital Edition Discontinued

The Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition are being discontinued, Microsoft confirmed today. Going forward, the only current generation console they will continue to produce will be the Xbox One S.

Microsoft’s reason for ending production on the consoles is their push towards the next generation with the Xbox Series X. They released a full statement to media outlets detailing their full reasoning behind the decision:

“At Xbox, we’re making massive investments to forge the future of gaming—a future that puts the player at the center of the Xbox experience. We continue to build great games for Xbox One. We continue to build out Game Pass, now with more than 10 million members across Xbox console and PC. We’re previewing Project xCloud in 15 countries so gamers can play games with their friends on any device. And we’re working hard on the next-generation of console gaming with Xbox Series X—the fastest, most powerful console we’ve ever built which includes backward compatibility with thousands of Xbox games and all Xbox One accessories. As we ramp into the future with Xbox Series X, we’re taking the natural step of stopping production on Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition. Xbox One S will continue to be manufactured and sold globally. Gamers can check with their local retailers for more details on Xbox One hardware availability.”

While it’s expected for consoles to be discontinued when a new generation arrives, it’s interesting that Microsoft is choosing to discontinue the Xbox One X, instead of continuing to produce it and ending production on both One S models. Perhaps it’s to avoid competing with the rumored Project Lockhart that is said to be a cheaper, less powerful version of the Series X. What’s for sure is that this plays a key factor in Microsoft’s plan to have first-party titles be cross-generation for a few years after the Series X releases this holiday season.